Apple has removed several widely used communications platforms from its app store in China at the request of the Chinese government.

Apple has complied with the Chinese government’s request to remove several popular communication apps from its app store, including WhatsApp, Threads, Signal, and Telegram, due to national security concerns. This action was taken following a directive from the Cyberspace Administration of China. These apps have been crucial for political dissidents globally, especially in China where political expression is heavily regulated. Despite previous reliance on VPNs to access these platforms, they are now unavailable for download in China through the official app store. This move by Apple comes amidst increasing tensions between the U.S. and China in the realm of consumer technology, with discussions in the U.S. Senate about the future of TikTok, a popular social media app owned by a Chinese parent company

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    17·
    8 months ago

    I’m guessing that the US is gonna do the TikTok ban too, then.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splinternet

    The splinternet (also referred to as cyber-balkanization or internet balkanization) is a characterization of the Internet as splintering and dividing due to various factors, such as technology, commerce, politics, nationalism, religion, and divergent national interests. “Powerful forces are threatening to balkanise it”, wrote the Economist weekly in 2010, arguing it could soon splinter along geographic and commercial boundaries.

    • huginn@feddit.it
      6·
      8 months ago

      I’m not sure how much the tiktok ban will be balkanization so much as just the death of the product. It’s popular in the EU but not nearly to the extent as the US market.

      No idea who would step into tiktok’s shoes in the advent of a ban. Hopefully not any of the big players - their offerings all blow compared to TT.